Type wheel setting means



Dec. 20, 1955 A. G. RUSSELL TYPE WHEEL SETTING MEANS original Filed April 28, 19248 3 Sheets-Sheet l www Dec. 20, 1955 TYPE WHEEL SETTING MEANS Original Filed April 28, 1948 A. G. RUSSELL 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Dec. 20, 1955 A. G. RUSSELL 2,727,460

TYPE WHEEL SETTING MEANS Original Filed April 28, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORN EY United States Patent-O TYPE WHEEL SETTING MEANS Alva G. Russell, Stamford, Conn., assigner to Pitney- Bowes, Inc., Stamford, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Original application April 28, 1948, Serial No. 23,847,

now Patent No. 2,672,290. Divided and this application August 7, 1951, Serial No. 240,665

2 Claims. (Cl. 101-91) This invention relates to value printing and setting mechanism, and more particularly to value setting means as provided in a postage printing and registering device, commonly known as a postage meter.

In a postage meter selected values may be set up in type wheels supported within a printing drum, and the value set will be printed and registered during a printing cycle of operation.

It is one object of the present invention to combine with a rotary printer, improved type wheel setting means which will move longitudinally of the axis of the printing drum during value setting and will rotate with the printing drum during a value printing operation.

It is another object to combine with a postage meter having a rotary printing drum, settable elements arranged in both the drum and in the meter, which elements move longitudinally of the axis of the printing drum to effect setting of type wheels in the drum, and remain connected during a printing cycle of operation.

lt is another object of the invention to provide axially aligned non-rotative and rotative sleeve members on a printing drum shaft which are slip-jointed at their ends, and include toothed rack portions geared to type wheels in a rotatable printing drum and toothed rack portions geared to settable elements positioned within a stationary meter, to thereby provide for type wheel setting and to permit a printing cycle of operation while the said members remain in operative engagement.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that various changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side view showing the type wheel setting mechanism in a postage printing and metering unit with parts broken away and parts in section;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1, with parts broken away and parts in section; l

Fig. 3 is an end sectional view taken along the line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view through the printing drum and taken along the line 4 4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing nested and settable sleeve and type setting members; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the slip joint between the rotative and non-rotative sleeve members.

This application is a division of a co-pending application of Alva G. Russell which bears Serial No. 23,847, and which was filed April 28, 1948, now Patent No. 2,672,290.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a shaft 11 has a printing drum 13 fixed thereon and is supported by end walls 12-12 of a frame 10. Type wheels 14 are ro- ICC tatively mounted on a shaft 15, within the printing drum 13, and the shaft 15 is supported by a bracket 16. Each type wheel 14 has a pinion 17 xed thereto.

Registering mechanism, generally indicated at 18, is rotatively supported on a shaft 19, carried by the walls 12-12. e

In a postage printing and registering device, the type wheels are adapted to be adjusted to a value which it is desired to print, and while said adjustment is effected, register actuator mechanism is adapted to be set for subsequent use in the registration of the set value during a printing cycle of operation. In the structure of the present invention, improved mechanism is provided for effecting type wheel setting.

The mechanism for accomplishing the latter includes a sleeve structure, best shown in Fig. 5, which comprises a non-rotative sleeve 22 and a rotative sleeve 23. Said sleeves are positioned about the drum shaft 11 and have their abutting ends joined in the manner indicated in Fig. 6, to provide for longitudinal movement of both sleeves, and rotative movement of one sleeve relative to the other. Said joint includes a peripheral flanged and grooved portion 24-24a forming a part of the sleeve 23, which is adapted to be joined with an internal flanged and grooved portion 2li- 20a of the non-rotative sleeve 22. Sleeve 22 has a part of its joint portion cut back a distance of as indicated at 22b, to permit the assembly thereof with the rotative sleeve 23. Said sleeve 23 further includes a projecting segmental portion 25 which has rack teeth 26 along one edge, as indicated in Figs. 2, 4 and 5. Said teeth 26 are adapted to be geared to the type wheel pinion 17 by means of intermediate gearing, generally indicated at 27, Figs. 2 and 4. A further segmental extension 28 is provided on the non-rotative sleeve 22, which also is provided with rack teeth 29.

For the purpose of simplifying the illustration, the disclosure has been limited to two type wheels and elements associated therewith, but it will be understood that these may be increased as desired. As best shown in Fig. 5, the two sleeve member assemblies are shown nested one within the other and are mounted on a suitable supporting sleeve 31, which latter sleeve is supported on the shaft 11. Further, in Fig. 5, it will be noted that the rack toothed segment portions 25 extend into the printing drum 13 and will therefore move with the printing drum during a printing cycle of operation.

Longitudinal adjustment of the sleeve structure 22-23 is provided by means of segmental gears 32, which gears are mounted on a shaft 33, carried by supports 34, within the frame 10. Setting levers 35 are also carried by the shaft 33 and are joilned with the segment gears 32 in such manner that when said levers 35 are rocked, the segment gears 32 will effect longitudinal motion of the toothed rack portions 28, the sleeves 22-23 and type wheel setting rack portions 25. The setting levers 35 are joined with their respective gear segments 32, as indicated in Fig. 3.

The register actuating mechanism and the means for adjusting said actuating mechanism in agreement with the type wheel setting is described in parent application Serial No. 23,847.

A cyclical drive is provided for the drum shaft 11 through a clutch connection 11a with a power drive of a metered mail machine in a manner disclosed in Patent 2,141,119.

Having described the invention what is claimed is:

1. In a type wheel setting device, the combination with a rotary printing drum having numeral type wheels therein, of a plurality of nested and longitudinally adjustable non-rotative sleeves on the drum axis, a plurality of nested rotative sleeves axially aligned and rotatively joined end to end with associated non-rotative sleeves, each of said rotative sleeves having a toothed rack extending therefrom and geared to an associated type wheel, and a selective setting member connected with each adjustable nonrotative sleeve, whereby combined axial movement of the joined sleeves may be eiected to provide selective type wheel setting, and rotation ofthe printing drum may be effected while the non-rotative sleeves remain operatively joined tothe rotative sleeves.

2. In a selective value printing device, a shaft having a printing drum fixed thereon, type wheels having numeral type thereon, nested sleeves on said shaft each including a toothed rack extension projecting into the drum and geared to their respective type wheels, a second group of nested sleeves on said shaft and including toothed rack extensions, setting levers including toothed portions mesh ing With the toothed racksof the second named sleeves, the ends of aligned pairs of said sleeves opposite the rack extensions having abutting ang'e and groove end portions thereof interlockedefor combined longitudinal and relativerotative movement, whereby type wheel setting is eiected when a setting lever is moved and whereby rela- 4 tive .f QatiQn 9i the Sleeves is sieste@ during a printing cycle of operation, said aligned pairs of sleeves and joint portions thereof having the same diameter.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 57,140 Y Hunter Aug. 14, 1866 244,804 Gillespie July 26, 1881 315,464 Blessing Apr. 14, 1885 1,437,144 lIsaacson Nov. 28, 1922 1,806,788 Cross May 26 19,31 1,904,626 O 'gden Apr. 18, 1933 2,005,038 Kalman v. v lime 18, 19,35 2,248,257 Thatcher July 8, 1941 2,510,350 Ronan June 6, 1950 2,516,920 Ryan Aug. 1, 1950 2,612,104 Rouan Sept. 30, 1952 Y FOREIGN PATENTS 18,238 Great Britain of 1896 

